An inquest into the death of a 59-year old man who was crushed between a forklift truck and a printing machine at a County Armagh factory has heard that the vehicle may have had problems. At the opening of the hearing, the jury heard evidence from witnesses who claimed the forklift which was involved in the accident at the Smurfit Plant in Lurgan eight years ago had been "behaving erratically." It was also common knowledge that there were problems with several of the forklifts at the factory. The employee died after the forklift, which was carrying a huge metal roller, jerked forward unexpectedly and pinned the man, who was kneeling down ready to install the roller on to the printer, up against the machine.
One multi-skilled maintenance worker at Smurfit who witnessed the accident told the court that the standard procedure for installing the metal roller into the printing machine was changed that day because of concerns regarding the forklift. Prior to the accident, he had been informed by another colleague that it had been decided to move the printer towards the forklift. The driver of the forklift also told the court that he was aware of a forklift at the plant which had problems, but could not be certain if he had been operating the one in question.
However these claims were heavily disputed by barristers representing both the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSE NI) and Smurfit Kappa. It was shown that an independent assessment carried out on the forklift after the accident showed that there were no mechanical faults with the vehicle, suggesting human error may be to blame. The inquest continues and we will keep you updated of any progress through future Monthly Bulletins.
